Apparatus and method for implementing LCDAS

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for implementing a lane change decision aid system (LCDAS). The LCDAS apparatus includes: a sensing device for sensing whether a target vehicle is in adjacent zones of a subject vehicle, whether the target vehicle is in a rear zone of the subject vehicle, or whether the target vehicle is a large vehicle or a compact vehicle; a processor for determining an activation condition for determining whether an LCDAS function is active/inactive and a warning condition for determining whether a warning of the LCDAS function is issued/un-issued, based on a sensing result of the sensing device; a warning device for issuing the warning to a driver based on a determination result of the processor; and a controller for controlling the sensing device, the processor, and the warning device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority toKorean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0184304, filed on Dec. 30, 2016with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vehicle anda control method thereof, and more particularly, to an apparatus and amethod for implementing a lane change decision aid system (LCDAS).

BACKGROUND

A lane change decision aid system (LCDAS) is one of functions of anadvanced driving assistance system (ADAS) and is a system for informinga driver of a collision that may occur when the driver attempts changinga lane. In addition, the LCDAS is a system for detecting a targetvehicle existing on the rear and side (left and right) of a subjectvehicle. For example, when the driver of the subject vehicle intends tochange the lane, the LCDAS evaluates the situation and warns the driverwhether a lane change is recommended or not recommended.

Meanwhile, the LCDAS is for assisting roles of rearview mirrors locatedoutside or inside the vehicle, but is not a system substituting therearview mirrors. In addition, the LCDAS only warns the driver of apredicted accident or collision, but does not activate an automaticcontrol action (e.g., steering control or brake control) to prevent theaccident or collision.

Various methods for implementing the LCDAS are provided by automobilerelated companies.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a series of systemsfor implementing an LCDAS.

Specifically, an object of the present disclosure is to provide anapparatus for implementing an LCDAS.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method forimplementing an LCDAS.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be understoodby the following description, and become apparent with reference to theembodiments of the present disclosure. Also, it is obvious to thoseskilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that theobjects and advantages of the present disclosure can be realized by themeans as claimed and combinations thereof.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an LCDASapparatus, includes: a sensing device for sensing whether a targetvehicle is in adjacent zones of a subject vehicle, whether the targetvehicle is in a rear zone of the subject vehicle, or whether the targetvehicle is a large vehicle or a compact vehicle; a processor fordetermining an activation condition for determining whether an LCDASfunction is active/inactive and a warning condition for determiningwhether a warning of the LCDAS function is issued/un-issued, based on asensing result of the sensing device; a warning device for issuing thewarning to a driver based on a determination result of the processor;and a controller for controlling the sensing device, the processor, andthe warning device.

The activation condition may include at least one of: a continuousactivation condition of activating the LCDAS function at all times whenthe subject vehicle starts; a manual switch activation condition ofallowing the driver to activate the LCDAS function using a switchoperation; a turn signal light activation condition of activating theLCDAS function when the driver turns on a turn signal light; and asubject vehicle speed activation condition of activating the LCDASfunction when a speed of the subject vehicle is equal to or greater thana threshold speed value.

The warning condition may include at least one of: a blind spot warningcondition of issuing a blind spot warning when the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones; and a closing vehicle warning conditionof issuing a closing vehicle warning when the target vehicle is locatedin the rear zone and when a maximum closing speed and a collision timeof the target vehicle satisfy a preset condition.

The processor may be additionally configured to determine a warninglevel evaluation condition for evaluating a warning level, and thewarning level evaluation condition may include at least one of: a turnsignal light evaluation condition determined as a high warning levelwhen the driver turns on the turn signal light; and a steering inputevaluation condition determined as the high warning level when thedriver manipulates a steering of the subject vehicle.

The warning may include a visual warning at a low warning level and thewarning may include a visual warning, an audible warning, and a hapticwarning at the high warning level.

The warning may include a visual warning and an audible warning at a lowwarning level and the warning may include a visual warning, an audiblewarning, and a haptic warning at the high warning level.

The controller may output a speed control command controlling the speedof the subject vehicle or a steering control command controlling asteering of the subject vehicle, corresponding to an issuance of theblind spot warning or an issuance of the closing vehicle warning.

The processor may additionally determine a lateral wind condition forissuing a lateral wind generation warning, and in the lateral windcondition, when the target vehicle is the compact vehicle, a closingspeed of the target vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicleis in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning may beissued and the controller may output a command for controlling a dampingof the vehicle in response to the lateral wind generation warning.

The processor may additionally determine a lateral wind condition forissuing a lateral wind generation warning and in the lateral windcondition, when the target vehicle is the large vehicle, a closing speedof the target vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is inthe rear zone, the lateral wind generation warning may be issued and thecontroller may output a command for controlling a height of the vehicleto be lowered in response to the lateral wind generation warning.

In the lateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is the largevehicle, the closing speed of the target vehicle is the positive value,and the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral windgeneration warning may be issued and the controller may output thecommand for controlling the damping of the vehicle in response to thelateral wind generation warning.

The large vehicle may be any one of a bus, a truck, and a trailer.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, an LCDAScontrol method includes steps of: sensing, by a sensing device, whethera target vehicle is in adjacent zones of a subject vehicle, whether thetarget vehicle is in a rear zone of the subject vehicle, or whether thetarget vehicle is a large vehicle or a compact vehicle; determining, bya processor, an activation condition for determining whether an LCDASfunction is active/inactive based on a sensing result of the sensingdevice; determining, by a warning device, a warning condition fordetermining whether the warning of the LCDAS function isissued/un-issued based on the sensing; and issuing a warning to a driverbased on a determination result of the processor.

The activation condition may include at least one of: a continuousactivation condition of activating the LCDAS function at all times whenthe subject vehicle starts; a manual switch activation condition ofallowing the driver to activate the LCDAS function using a switchoperation; a turn signal light activation condition of activating theLCDAS function when the driver turns on a turn signal light; and asubject vehicle speed activation condition of activating the LCDASfunction when a speed of the subject vehicle is equal to or greater thana threshold speed value.

The warning condition may include at least one of: a blind spot warningcondition of issuing a blind spot warning when the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones; and a closing vehicle warning conditionof issuing a closing vehicle warning when the target vehicle is locatedin the rear zone and when a maximum closing speed and a collision timeof the target vehicle satisfy a preset condition.

The LCDAS control method may further include a step of: determining awarning level evaluation condition for evaluating a warning level, inwhich the warning level evaluation condition may include at least oneof: a turn signal light evaluation condition determined as a highwarning level when the driver turns on the turn signal light; and asteering input evaluation condition determined as the high warning levelwhen the driver manipulates a steering of the subject vehicle.

The step of issuing a warning may include: issuing a visual warning at alow warning level; and issuing a visual warning, an audible warning, anda haptic warning at a high warning level.

The LCDAS control method may further include a step of: outputting acommand controlling the speed of the subject vehicle or the steering ofthe subject vehicle, corresponding to an issuance of the blind spotwarning or an issuance of the closing vehicle warning.

The LCDAS control method may further include a step of: determining alateral wind condition for issuing a lateral wind generation warning, inwhich in the lateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is thecompact vehicle, a closing speed of the target vehicle is a positivevalue, and the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral windgeneration warning may be issued and a command for controlling a dampingof the vehicle in response to the lateral wind generation warning may beoutput.

The LCDAS control method may further include a step of: determining alateral wind condition for issuing a lateral wind generation warning, inwhich in the lateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is thelarge vehicle, a closing speed of the target vehicle is a positivevalue, and the target vehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral windgeneration warning may be issued and a command for controlling a heightof the vehicle to be lowered in response to the lateral wind generationwarning may be output.

In the lateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is the largevehicle, the closing speed of the target vehicle is the positive value,and the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral windgeneration warning may be issued and a command for controlling a dampingof the vehicle in response to the lateral wind generation warning may beoutput.

According to the apparatus for implementing an LCDAS according to theembodiment of the present disclosure, one apparatus capable ofimplementing the LCDAS may be provided.

According to the method for implementing an LCDAS according to theembodiment of the present disclosure, one control method capable ofimplementing the LCDAS may be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent disclosure will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an adjacent zone in application of anLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a rear zone in the application of theLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a lateral clearance in the applicationof the LCDAS according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are views for explaining a rear region in the applicationof the LCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining three types in the application of theLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an implementation example of an LCDASfunction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state change example of the LCDASaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an LCDAS apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining an LCDAS control method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so thatthose skilled in the art may easily practice the present disclosure. Asthose skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may bemodified in various different ways, all without departing from thespirit or scope of the present disclosure.

A part irrelevant to the description will be omitted to clearly describethe present disclosure, and the same elements will be designated by thesame reference numerals throughout the specification.

Throughout the present specification, when any one part is referred toas being “connected to” another part, it means that any one part andanother part are “directly connected to” each other or are “electricallyconnected to” each other with the other part interposed therebetween.Further, unless explicitly described to the contrary, “comprising” anycomponents will be understood to imply the inclusion of other componentsrather than the exclusion of any other components.

The mention that any portion is present “over” another portion meansthat any portion may be directly formed on another portion or a thirdportion may be interposed between one portion and another portion. Incontrast, the mention that any portion is present “just over” anotherportion means that a third portion may not be interposed between oneportion and another portion.

Terms used throughout the specification, ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’,etc. may be used to describe various portions, components, zones,layers, and/or sections but are not limited thereto. These terms areused only to differentiate any portion, component, zone, layer, orsection from other portions, components, zones, layers, or sections.Therefore, a first portion, component, zone, layer, or section whichwill be described below may be mentioned as a second portion, component,zone, layer, or section without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Terminologies used herein are to mention only a specific exemplaryembodiment, and does not limit the present disclosure. Singular formsused herein include plural forms as long as phrases do not clearlyindicate an opposite meaning. A term “including” used in the presentspecification concretely indicates specific properties, zones, integernumbers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and is not toexclude presence or addition of other specific properties, zones,integer numbers, steps, operations, elements and/or components.

The term expressing the relative space of “under”, “over”, and the likemay be used to more easily describe the relationship between otherportions of one portion which is illustrated in the drawings. The termsintend to include other meanings or operations of apparatuses which arebeing used along with the intended meaning in the drawings. For example,overturning the apparatus in the drawings, any portions described asbeing positioned “under” other portions will be described as beingpositioned “over” other portions. Therefore, the exemplified term“under” includes both of the up and down directions. An apparatus mayrotate by 90° or may rotate at different angles and the term expressinga relative space is interpreted accordingly.

All terms including technical terms and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as the meaning generally understood by thoseskilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains unlessdefined otherwise. Terms defined in a generally used dictionary areadditionally interpreted as having the meaning matched to the relatedart document and the currently disclosed contents and are notinterpreted as ideal or formal meaning unless defined.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure so as to beeasily practiced by a person skilled in the art to which the presentdisclosure pertains will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be modifiedin various different ways and is not limited to embodiments provided inthe present description.

Prior to description with the drawings, terms required in an LCDASaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be summarizedas follows.

A subject vehicle is equipped with an apparatus for implementing anLCDAS and is a vehicle to which the LCDAS according to the presentdisclosure is applied.

The target vehicle is a vehicle that is considered when the subjectvehicle implements an LCDAS function. The target vehicle is generally avehicle that approaches the subject vehicle from the rear and is presenton the rear or the side of the subject vehicle.

A coverage zone indicates all zones to which the LCDAS of the subjectvehicle is applied. Specifically, the coverage zone includes adjacentzones and rear zones. The adjacent zones include a left adjacent zoneand a right adjacent zone, and the rear zones include a left rear zoneand a right rear zone.

The adjacent zones indicate the left and right zones of the subjectvehicle, and include a left adjacent zone and a right adjacent zone.

The rear zones indicate a rear zone of the subject vehicle and include aleft rear zone and a right rear zone.

The lateral clearance indicates a distance between the side of thesubject vehicle and the side of the target vehicle (side near thesubject vehicle).

The rear clearance indicates the distance between the rear surface ofthe subject vehicle and the front surface of the target vehicle. Indetail, a backward clearance means a clearance based on a straight line,but in some cases indicates a clearance based on a path of the targetvehicle.

The closing speed indicates a difference between the speed of the targetvehicle and the speed of the subject vehicle. Therefore, when theclosing speed is a positive value, it means that the target vehicle isapproaching the subject vehicle from the rear side.

Time to collision means the time taken for the target vehicle to collidewith the subject vehicle. Specifically, the collision time may becalculated by dividing the backward clearance by the closing speed.

An overtaking speed indicates a difference between the speed of thesubject vehicle and the speed of the target vehicle. Therefore, theovertaking speed having a positive value means that the speed of thesubject vehicle is larger than the speed of the target vehicle.

A blind spot warning function indicates a function of detecting whetheror not the target vehicle is present in the adjacent zones and warning adriver of the subject vehicle of the detected result.

A closing vehicle warning function is a function of detecting whetherthere is a vehicle approached from the rear zone and warning the driverof the subject vehicle of the detected result.

A lane change warning function indicates a function that includes boththe blind spot warning function and the closing vehicle warningfunction.

A roadway radius of curvature indicates a horizontal radius of curvatureof a road to which the subject vehicle belongs.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an adjacent zone in application of anLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a subject vehicle 1 is illustrated. As describedabove, the adjacent zones include a left adjacent zone 2 and a rightadjacent zone 3. That is, the left zone based on a driving direction(arrow direction in FIG. 1) of the subject vehicle 1 is referred to asthe left adjacent zone 2 and the right zone based on the drivingdirection (arrow direction in FIG. 1) of the subject vehicle 1 isreferred to as the right adjacent zone 3.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a rear zone in the application of theLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, the subject vehicle 1 is illustrated. As describedabove, the rear zones include a left rear zone 2 and a right rear zone3. That is, the left zone based on a driving direction (arrow directionin FIG. 1) of the subject vehicle 2 is referred to as the left adjacentzone 2 and the right zone based on the driving direction (arrowdirection in FIG. 1) of the subject vehicle 2 is referred to as theright adjacent zone 3.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a lateral clearance in the applicationof the LCDAS according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a subject vehicle 1 is illustrated. As describedabove, the lateral clearance 3 indicates the distance between the sideof the subject vehicle and the side of the target vehicle (side near thesubject vehicle). That is, the distance between the side of the targetvehicle 2 located on the left based on the driving direction (arrowdirection in FIG. 3) of the subject vehicle 1 and the side of thesubject vehicle 1 is the lateral clearance 3. Further, the distancebetween the side of the target vehicle 2 located on the right based onthe driving direction (arrow direction in FIG. 3) of the subject vehicle1 and the side of the subject vehicle 1 is the lateral clearance 3.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a rear region in the application of theLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the subject vehicle 1 and the target vehicle 2 areillustrated. As described above, the rear clearance 3 indicates thedistance between the rear surface of the subject vehicle and the frontsurface of the target vehicle.

As illustrated in FIG. 4a , the rear clearance may mean a clearancebased on a straight line. In FIG. 4A, a linear distance between the rearsurface of the subject vehicle 1 and the front surface of the targetvehicle 2 may be referred to as a rear clearance 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 4b , the rear clearance may be referred to as aclearance based on a straight line. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, adistance between an extension of the rear surface of the subject vehicle1 and the front surface of the target vehicle 2 may be referred to asthe rear clearance 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the backward clearance may be referred to asthe clearance 3 based on the path of the target vehicle. In FIG. 4C, thedistance between the rear surface of the subject vehicle 1 and the frontsurface of the target vehicle 2 may be referred to as the rear clearance3 based on the path of the target vehicle 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 4D, the backward clearance may be referred to asthe clearance 3 based on the path of the target vehicle. In FIG. 4D, thedistance between the extension of the rear surface of the subjectvehicle 1 and the front surface of the target vehicle 2 is measuredbased on the path of the target vehicle 2 and may be referred to as therear clearance 3.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining three types in the application of theLCDAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The LCDAS according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may beclassified into three types (type I, type II, and type III). The type Iis an LCDAS type for implementing the blind spot warning function, andthe left adjacent zone and the right adjacent zone which are theadjacent zones set to be detection target zones. The type II is theLCDAS type for implementing the closing vehicle warning function, andthe left rear zone and the right rear zone which are the rear zones areset to be the detection target zones. The type III is the LCDAS type forimplementing the lane change warning function and the lane changewarning function includes both of the blind spot warning function andthe closing vehicle warning function. Therefore, the type III sets theleft adjacent zone and the right adjacent zone which are the adjacentzones and the left rear zone and the right rear zone which are the rearzones to be the detection target zones.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an implementation example of an LCDASfunction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the subject vehicle 1, a centre of the 95thpercentile eyellipse, the left adjacent zone 3, and the right adjacentzone 4 are illustrated. Referring to FIG. 6, the requirements of theblind spot warning function and the closing vehicle warning functionwill be described below. However, it should be understood that the linesillustrated in FIG. 6 correspond to examples for description and thetechnical idea of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

A line A may be parallel to a trailing edge of the subject vehicle 1 andlocated 30 m behind from the subject vehicle 1. A line B may be parallelto the trailing edge of the subject vehicle 1 and located 3 m behindfrom the subject vehicle 1. A line C may be parallel to a leading edgeof the subject vehicle 1 and located at a center 2. A line D may be anextension of the leading edge of the subject vehicle 1. A line E isparallel to a center line of the subject vehicle 1 and may be located ata leftmost outermost edge (excluding an external mirror) of a body ofthe subject vehicle 1. A line F is parallel to the center line of thesubject vehicle 1 and may be located 0.5 m left from the leftmostoutermost edge of the body of the subject vehicle 1. A line G isparallel to the center line of the subject vehicle 1 and may be located3 m left from the leftmost outermost edge of the body of the subjectvehicle 1. A line H is parallel to the center line of the subjectvehicle 1 and may be located 6 m left from the leftmost outermost edgeof the body of the subject vehicle 1. A line J is parallel to the centerline of the subject vehicle 1 and may be located at a rightmostoutermost edge (excluding the external mirror) of the body of thesubject vehicle 1. A line K is parallel to the center line of thesubject vehicle 1 and may be located 0.5 m right from the rightmostoutermost edge of the body of the subject vehicle 1. A line L isparallel to the center line of the subject vehicle 1 and may be located3 m right from the rightmost outermost edge of the body of the subjectvehicle 1. A line M is parallel to the center line of the subjectvehicle 1 and may be located 6 m right from the rightmost outermost edgeof the body of the subject vehicle 1. A line N may be an extension ofthe trailing edge of the subject vehicle 1. A line O may be parallel tothe trailing edge of the subject vehicle 1 and located 10 m behind fromthe subject vehicle 1.

The adjacent zones include the left adjacent zone that is a zonepartitioned by the line C, the line B, the line G, and the line F.Further, the adjacent zones include the right adjacent zone that is azone partitioned by the line C, the line B, the line K, and the line L.When the target vehicle exists in the adjacent zone, a warning may beissued to a driver in accordance with the blind spot warning function asdescribed below.

The rear zones include the left rear zone that is a zone partitioned bythe line B, the line O, the line G, and the line F. Further, the rearzones include the right rear zone that is a zone partitioned by the lineB, the line O, the line K, and the line L. When the target vehicleexists in the rear zone, a warning may be issued to a driver inaccordance with the closing vehicle warning function as described below.

The blind spot warning function includes a left blind spot warningfunction and a right blind spot warning function, and the respectiverequirements (warning conditions) are as follows. The left blind spotwarning function: When the portion of the target vehicle is located infront of the line B, the target vehicle is located behind the line C asa whole, the target vehicle is located on the left of the line F as awhole, and the target vehicle is located on the right of the line G, thewarning is issued to the driver. If the target vehicle is not located inthe zone defined by the lines A, D, E, and H or if no portion of thetarget vehicle is located, the left blind spot warning function is notperformed. The right blind spot warning function: When the portion ofthe target vehicle is located in front of the line B, the target vehicleis located behind the line C as a whole, the target vehicle is locatedon the right of the line K as a whole, and the target vehicle is locatedon the left of the line L, the warning is issued to the driver. If thetarget vehicle is not located in the zone defined by the lines A, D, J,and M or if no portion of the target vehicle is located, the right blindspot warning function is not performed. The conditions may be referredto as the blind spot warning condition.

Meanwhile, the blind spot warning function may be selectivelysuppressed. Specifically, when the subject vehicle passes the targetvehicle ahead and the target vehicle enters the adjacent zones from thefront, the blind spot warning function may be suppressed for a period inless than two seconds.

The closing vehicle warning function includes a left closing vehiclewarning function and a right closing vehicle warning function, and therespective requirements (warning conditions) are as follows. The leftclosing vehicle warning function: When the target vehicle is locatedbehind the line B as a whole, the target vehicle is located on the leftof the line F as a whole, the portion of the target vehicle is locatedon the right of the line G, and the collision time of the target vehicleis equal to or smaller than the following Table 1, the warning is issuedto the driver. The conditions may be referred to as the closing vehiclewarning condition.

TABLE 1 Maximum closing speed Collision Type of target vehicle (m/s)time (s) A 10 2.5 B 15 3.0 C 20 3.5

For example, when the target vehicle is in the left rear zone of therear of line A and the collision time of the target vehicle is 7.5 s ormore, a left closing vehicle warning will not be issued. Further, whenthe target vehicle is located in front of the line A and the targetvehicle is located in front of the line N as a whole or when no part ofthe target vehicle is in the zone between the lines E and H, the leftclosing vehicle warning will not be issued.

The right closing vehicle warning function: When the target vehicle islocated behind the line B as a whole, the target vehicle is located onthe right of the line K as a whole, the portion of the target vehicle islocated on the left of the line L, and the collision time of the targetvehicle is equal to or smaller than the above Table 1, the warning isissued to the driver.

For example, when the target vehicle is in the right rear zone of therear of line A and the collision time of the target vehicle is 7.5 s ormore, a right closing vehicle warning will not be issued. Further, whenthe target vehicle is located in front of the line A and the targetvehicle is located in front of the line N as a whole or when no part ofthe target vehicle is in the zone between the lines J and M, the rightclosing vehicle warning will not be issued.

A lateral wind generation warning function warns that a lateral windwill be generated by the target vehicle that is driving on a lane (rightlane or left lane) next to a lane on which the subject vehicle isdriving. Specifically, when the target vehicle causes a lateral winddisturbance, the vehicle stability of the subject vehicle is notguaranteed. Regardless of the driver's intention to drive in the lane,the subject vehicle affected by the lateral wind may be affected by anunexpected motion in a yaw or roll direction. The condition for issuingthe lateral wind generation warning is as follows.

(1) When the target vehicle is a compact vehicle, the closing speed ofthe target vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning isissued. When the target vehicle is compact vehicles (for example, apassenger car), the amount of lateral wind generated is smaller thanthat of large vehicles (e.g., bus, truck, trailer, etc.). Also, theclosing speed is a value obtained by subtracting the speed of thesubject vehicle from the speed of the target vehicle, and the fact thatthe closing speed is the positive value means that the speed of thetarget vehicle is faster than that of the subject vehicle. Therefore,when the target vehicle is in the rear zone, no warning is generated andno control is involved. Further, when the target vehicle is in theadjacent zones, the damping of the subject vehicle is controlled. Theheight control of the garage provides a sense of difference to a driver,while the damping control provides a less sense of difference to thedriver, and therefore in the case of the compact vehicle that generatesa smaller amount of lateral wind, the stability of the vehicle may beensured only by the damping control.

(2) When the target vehicle is a large vehicle, the closing speed of thetarget vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is located inthe rear zone, the lateral wind generation warning is issued. When thetarget vehicle is a large vehicle, the amount of lateral wind generatedis larger than that of a compact vehicle. Also, the closing speed is avalue obtained by subtracting the speed of the subject vehicle from thespeed of the target vehicle, and the fact that the closing speed is thepositive value means that the speed of the target vehicle is faster thanthat of the subject vehicle. Therefore, when the target vehicle (largevehicle) is in the rear zone, the warning is generated and as thecontrol, the control is performed to lower a height of the vehicle.

(3) When the target vehicle is a large vehicle, the closing speed of thetarget vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is located inthe adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued. Whenthe target vehicle is a large vehicle, the amount of lateral windgenerated is larger than that of a compact vehicle. Also, the closingspeed is a value obtained by subtracting the speed of the subjectvehicle from the speed of the target vehicle, and the fact that theclosing speed is the positive value means that the speed of the targetvehicle is faster than that of the subject vehicle. Therefore, when thetarget vehicle (large vehicle) is in the adjacent zones, the warning isgenerated and the damping of the subject vehicle is controlled as acontrol.

Optionally, a bilateral closing vehicle warning may be issued. Forexample, when the left closing vehicle warning and the right vehiclewarning need not be issued, the portion of the target vehicle is betweenthe lines E and J, the target vehicle is located behind the line O as awhole, and the collision time of the target vehicle is smaller than orequal to the above Table 1, the bilateral closing vehicle warning may beissued.

Optionally, the closing vehicle information may be issued. Theinformation includes information about one or more target vehicles asvisual information and may be provided to the driver of the subjectvehicle at any time, and the information should be clearly distinguishedfrom the warning.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the time until the warning indicationis activated after the warning condition is satisfied is within 300 ms.Further, it is preferable that the time until the warning indication isinactivated after the warning condition is released is within 1 s.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state change example of the LCDASaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the LCDAS is divided into an inactive state (LCDASinactive) and an active state (LCDAS active). Specifically, when theactivation condition is satisfied, it is changed from the LCDAS inactivestate to the LCDAS active state and when the activation condition is notsatisfied, it is changed from the LCDAS active state to the LCDASinactive state. The activation conditions include continuous activation,manual switch activation, turn signal light activation, and subjectvehicle speed activation. The continuous activation indicates that theLCDAS function is activated at all times when the vehicle starts. Themanual switch activation indicates that the user manually activates theLCDAS using a switch (e.g., toggle switch or menu based interface). Theturn signal light activation indicates that the LCDAS is activated whenthe driver turns on the turn signal light. For example, when the driverturns on a left turn signal light, a right LCDAS may be inactivatedwhile a left LCDAS is activated. The subject vehicle speed activationindicates the activation of the LCDAS based on the speed of the subjectvehicle. For example, the LCDAS may be activated if the speed of thesubject vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold speed value. Forexample, the threshold speed value may be 60 km/h.

The LCDAS active state is classified into a non-warning state and awarning state. The non-warning state is a state in which no warning isindicated to the driver, and the warning state is a state in which awarning is indicated to the driver. When the warning condition issatisfied, the non-warning state is changed to the warning state, and ifthe warning condition is not satisfied, the warning state is changed tothe non-warning state. The warning condition is as described withreference to FIG. 6.

The warning state is classified into a warning level 1 state and awarning level 2 state. The warning level 2 state is a more urgent statethan the warning level 1 state. When a condition of evaluating a warninglevel (warning level evaluation condition) is not satisfied, the stateis the warning level 1 state and when the warning level evaluationcondition is satisfied, the state may be changed to the warning level 2state. The warning level evaluation condition is for evaluating whetheror not the driver intends to change the lane and reflecting theevaluated result to a degree of warning. The warning in the warninglevel 1 state may only be a visual warning. However, a warning in thewarning level 2 state may additionally issue a visual warning, anaudible warning, and a haptic warning. The warning level evaluationcondition may include a turn signal light evaluation, a subject vehiclesteering input evaluation, a subject vehicle lane location evaluation,and a lateral clearance evaluation. The turn signal light evaluationevaluates whether or not the driver turns on the turn signal light andthus the change to the warning level 2 state is made when the driverturns on the turn signal light. At this point, if the direction of theturn signal light is a left direction, a right direction may not beconsidered or vice versa. The subject vehicle steering input evaluationevaluates whether or not the driver performs the steering manipulation(steering wheel manipulation) and that the change to the warning level 2state is made when the driver tries to change the lane. At this point,if the steering manipulation is the left direction, the right directionmay not be considered or vice versa. The subject vehicle lane locationevaluation evaluates the location and/or the lateral motion of thesubject vehicle in the lane and thus the change to the warning level 2state is made when the subject vehicle moves forward or enters the laneto the left. At this point, if the motion direction is the leftdirection, the right direction may not be considered or vice versa. Thewarning level 2 state may issue a more urgent warning than the warninglevel 1 state. As described above, the warning level 1 state issues onlythe visual warning, whereas the warning level 2 state may additionallyissue the visual warning, the audible warning, and the haptic warning.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an LCDAS apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

An LCDAS apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a sensing device 110, a processor 120, a warningdevice 130, and a controller 140.

The sensing device 110, the processor 120, the warning device 130, andthe controller 140 may transmit and receive information through signalcommunication and may perform a desired function based on the receivedinformation.

The processor 120 is an electric circuitry that executes instructions ofsoftware which thereby performs various functions described hereinafter.

The sensing device 110 senses whether the target vehicle exists in theadjacent zones of the subject vehicle, whether the target vehicle existsin the rear areas of the subject vehicle, or whether the target vehicleis a large vehicle or a compact vehicle. The sensing device 110 may beinstalled on a part of a radiator grille of the vehicle, for example, onthe inside thereof but may be installed in any location of the vehicleas long as it is at a location where a vehicle located ahead may besensed. In addition, the sensing device 110 may be installed at a sidemirror portion outside the vehicle, but may be installed at any locationof the vehicle as long as it is at a location where a side surface ofthe vehicle may be sensed. In addition, the sensing device 110 may beinstalled outside a trunk of the vehicle, but may be installed at anylocation of the vehicle as long as it is at a location where the rear ofthe vehicle may be sensed.

The processor 120 may determine the activation condition for determiningwhether to activate/deactivate the LCDAS function based on the sensingof the sensing device 110. As described above with reference to FIG. 7,the LCDAS may be classified into the inactive state and the active stateand the processor 120 may determine the activation condition forchanging from the inactive state to the active state (or vice versa).The activation condition may include the continuous activation conditionthat activates the LCDAS function at all times when the subject vehiclestarts, the manual switch activation condition that a driver manuallyactivates the LCDAS function using the switch operation (e.g., a toggleswitch or a menu-based interface), the turn signal light activationcondition that a driver activates the LCDAS when he/she activates theturn signal light, and the subject vehicle speed activation condition ofactivating the LCDAS function when the speed of the subject vehicle isequal to or greater than the threshold speed value.

Further, the processor 120 may determine the warning condition fordetermining whether to issue/un-issue the warning of the LCDAS functionbased on the sensing of the sensing device 110. As described above withreference to FIG. 7, the LCDAS active state may be classified into thenon-warning state and the warning state and the processor 120 maydetermine the warning condition for changing from the non-warning stateto the warning state (or vice versa). As described with reference toFIG. 6, the warning condition is the blind spot warning condition forissuing the blind spot warning when the target vehicle is located in theadjacent zones, the closing vehicle warning condition for issuing theclosing vehicle warning in consideration of the maximum closing speedand the collision time of the target vehicle when the target vehicle islocated in the rear zone, and the lateral condition for issuing thewarning that the lateral wind is generated by the target vehicle.

In addition, the processor 120 determines the warning level evaluationcondition for evaluating the warning level. As described above withreference to FIG. 7, the warning state is classified into the warninglevel 1 state and the warning level 2 state. The warning level 1 stateis the relatively low warning level, and the warning level 2 state isthe relatively high warning level. The processor 120 determines thewarning level evaluation condition for changing from the warning level 1state to the warning level 2 state (or vice versa). The warning levelevaluation condition includes the turn signal light evaluation conditionfor changing from the level 1 to the level 2 when the driver turns onthe turn signal light and a steering input evaluation condition forchanging from the level 1 to the level 2 when the driver manipulates thesteering of the subject vehicle (for example, steering wheelmanipulation).

The warning device 130 issues a warning to the driver based on thedetermination of the processor 120. The warning method of the warningdevice 130 may include the visual warning, the audible warning, and thehaptic warning. For the visual warning, the warning device 130 may beconfigured of a light emitting element such as an LED. Also, inconsideration of a lane change situation that is a characteristic of theLCDAS, the warning device 130 may be implemented in a manner of emittinglight from a part of the side mirror. Alternatively, the warning device130 may be implemented in such a manner that it emits light from a partof an instrument panel. For the audible warning, the warning device 130may be configured of a beep or a buzzer that generates a warning soundor implemented to generate a warning sound through a speaker inside thevehicle. For the haptic warning, the warning device 130 may beimplemented as a vibration generating motor. Further, in order toimmediately transmit vibration to a driver, the warning device 130 maybe implemented to generate the vibration in the steering wheel or may beimplemented to generate the vibration in a driver's seat.

Also, the warning device 130 may generate a warning by differentiallydividing the low warning level and the high warning level. For example,only the visual warning may be generated at the low warning level, andall of the visual warning, the audible warning, and the haptic warningmay be generated at the high warning level. Alternatively, the visualwarning and the audible warning may be generated at the low warninglevel, and all of the visual warning, the audible warning, and thehaptic warning may be generated at the high warning level.

The controller 140 serves to control the sensing device 110, theprocessor 120, and the warning device 130. For example, the controllermay perform an on/off control of the sensing device 110, the processor120, the warning device 130, a CLK synchronization control, a signaltransmitting/receiving control, and the like. The controller 140 mayalso serve to perform an electronic control related to the operation ofthe vehicle. The controller 140 may be installed at any location in thevehicle according to the designer's selection. For example, thecontroller 140 may be installed between an engine room and a dashboardor may be provided inside a center fascia. The controller 140 mayinclude at least one processor that may receive an electrical signal andprocess and output the received electrical signal. The at least oneprocessor may be configured of at least one semiconductor chip and therelated components. The at least one semiconductor chip and theassociated components may be mounted on a printed circuit board that maybe installed inside the vehicle.

Also, the controller 140 may output a control signal for controlling themovement of the vehicle. For example, the controller 140 may output aspeed control command for controlling the speed of the subject vehiclewhen a blind spot warning and a closing vehicle warning are issued. Thespeed control command output from the controller 140 is transmitted toan electronic control unit (ECU), a brake controller, or an acceleratorcontroller of the vehicle, such that the speed of the vehicle may becontrolled. Further, for example, the controller 140 may output asteering control command for controlling the steering of the subjectvehicle when the blind spot warning and the closing vehicle warning areissued. The steering control command output from the controller 140 istransmitted to the electronic control unit (ECU) and a steering wheelcontroller of the vehicle, such that the steering of the vehicle may becontrolled.

Preferably, the controller 140 may output a command for controlling thedamping of the subject vehicle or a command for controlling a height ofthe subject vehicle when the lateral wind generation warning is issued.(1) When the target vehicle is a compact vehicle, the closing speed ofthe target vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is in theadjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued, and thecontroller 140 controls the damping of the subject vehicle in responsethereto. Since the target vehicle is a compact vehicle, the amount oflateral wind generated is smaller than that of the large vehicle, andtherefore the height control of the vehicle providing the sense ofdifference to the driver is not involved but any control is notperformed in the case of the rear zone. (2) When the target vehicle is alarge vehicle, the closing speed of the vehicle is a positive value, andthe target vehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral wind generationwarning is issued, and the controller 140 controls the vehicle height ofthe subject vehicle to be lowered in response thereto. (3) When thetarget vehicle is a large vehicle, the closing speed of the targetvehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is in the adjacentzones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued, and the controller140 controls the damping of the subject vehicle in response thereto.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining an LCDAS control method accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The LCDAS control method described with reference to FIG. 9 may beperformed by the LCDAS apparatus illustrated in FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 9, step S910 of sensing whether the target vehicleexists in the adjacent zones or the rear zone and whether the targetvehicle is a compact vehicle or a large vehicle is illustrated. Asdescribed with reference to FIG. 6, the adjacent zones include the leftadjacent zone and the right adjacent zone. The rear zones include theleft rear zone and the right rear zone. The compact vehicle may be, forexample, a passenger car, and the large vehicle may be, for example, abus, a truck, a trailer, and the like.

Next, step (S920) of determining the activation condition ofactivation/deactivation of the LCDAS function is illustrated. Asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 7, the LCDAS may be classifiedinto the inactive state and the active state and the processor 120 maydetermine the activation condition for changing from the inactive stateto the active state (or vice versa). The activation condition mayinclude the continuous activation condition that activates the LCDASfunction at all times when the subject vehicle starts, the manual switchactivation condition that a driver manually activates the LCDAS functionusing the switch operation (e.g., a toggle switch or a menu-basedinterface), the turn signal light activation condition that a driveractivates the LCDAS when he/she activates the turn signal light, and thesubject vehicle speed activation condition of activating the LCDASfunction when the speed of the subject vehicle is equal to or greaterthan the threshold speed value.

Next, step (S930) of determining the warning condition ofissuance/un-issuance of the LCDAS function is illustrated. As describedabove with reference to FIG. 7, the LCDAS active state may be classifiedinto the non-warning state and the warning state and the processor 120may determine the warning condition for changing from the non-warningstate to the warning state (or vice versa). As described with referenceto FIG. 6, the warning condition includes the blind spot warningcondition for issuing the blind spot warning when the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones, the closing vehicle warning condition forissuing the closing vehicle warning in consideration of the maximumclosing speed and the collision time of the target vehicle when thetarget vehicle is located in the rear zone, and the lateral conditionfor warning whether the lateral wind is generated by the target vehicle.In the lateral wind condition, (1) when the target vehicle is a compactvehicle, the closing speed of the target vehicle is a positive value,and the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral windgeneration warning is issued, (2) when the target vehicle is a largevehicle, the closing speed of the vehicle is a positive value, and thetarget vehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral wind generation warningis issued, and (3) when the target vehicle is a large vehicle, theclosing speed of the vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicleis in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued.

Next, step (S940) of determining the warning level evaluation conditionis illustrated. As described above with reference to FIG. 7, the warningstate is classified into the warning level 1 state and the warning level2 state. The warning level 1 state is the relatively low warning level,and the warning level 2 state is the relatively high warning level. Theprocessor 120 determines the warning level evaluation condition forchanging from the warning level 1 state to the warning level 2 state (orvice versa). The warning level evaluation condition includes the turnsignal light evaluation condition for changing from the level 1 to thelevel 2 when the driver turns on the turn signal light and a steeringinput evaluation condition for changing from the level 1 to the level 2when the driver manipulates the steering of the subject vehicle (forexample, steering wheel manipulation).

Next, step (S950) for issuing the warning to the driver is illustrated.The warning method may include the visual warning, the audible warning,and the haptic warning. Also, the warning device 130 may generate awarning by differentially dividing the low warning level and the highwarning level. For example, only the visual warning may be generated atthe low warning level, and all of the visual warning, the audiblewarning, and the haptic warning may be generated at the high warninglevel. Alternatively, the visual warning and the audible warning may begenerated at the low warning level, and all of the visual warning, theaudible warning, and the haptic warning may be generated at the highwarning level.

Next, step (S960) of controlling the speed of the vehicle, the steeringof the vehicle, the height of the vehicle, and the damping of thevehicle is illustrated. For example, the speed control command forcontrolling the speed of the subject vehicle may be output when theblind spot warning or the closing vehicle warning is issued. The outputspeed control command is transmitted to the electronic control unit(ECU), the brake controller, or the accelerator controller of thevehicle, such that the speed of the vehicle may be controlled. Further,for example, the steering control command for controlling the steeringof the subject vehicle may be output when the blind spot warning or theclosing vehicle warning is issued. The output steering control commandis transmitted to the electronic control unit (ECU) and the steeringwheel controller of the vehicle, such that the steering of the vehiclemay be controlled. Further, when the lateral wind generation warning isissued, the damping of the vehicle or the height of the vehicle may becontrolled. Specifically, (1) when the target vehicle is a compactvehicle, the closing speed of the target vehicle is a positive value,and the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral windgeneration warning is issued, and a step of outputting a command forcontrolling the damping of the subject vehicle in response thereto maybe performed. Since the target vehicle is a compact vehicle, the amountof lateral wind generated is smaller than that of the large vehicle, andtherefore the height control of the vehicle providing the sense ofdifference to the driver is not involved but any control is notperformed in the case of the rear zone. (2) When the target vehicle is alarge vehicle, the closing speed of the vehicle is a positive value, andthe target vehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral wind generationwarning is issued, and a step of outputting a command for controllingthe height of the subject vehicle to be lowered in response thereto maybe performed. (3) When the target vehicle is a large vehicle, theclosing speed of the vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicleis in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued,and a step of outputting a command for controlling the damping of thesubject vehicle in response thereto may be performed.

Meanwhile, it should be understood that the LCDAS was described as anexample for convenience of description in the present specification. Asdescribed above, it should be understood that the LCDAS is only one ofseveral ADAS functions as described above, and that the LCDASimplementations presented by the present disclosure may also be used toimplement other ADAS functions involved. For example, the systempresented by the present disclosure may be applied to implement one or acombination of ones of the ADAS functions such as the LCDAS, a landdeparture warning system (LDWS), an adaptive cruise control (ACC), alane keeping assistance system (LKAS), a road boundary departureprevention system (RBDPS), a pedestrian detection and collisionmitigation system (PDCMS) a curve speed warning system (CSWS), a forwardvehicle collision warning system (FVCWS), and low speed following (LSF).

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may beachieved by hardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof.If achieved by software, the functions may be stored or transmitted asone or more commands or codes in a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium includes all of communication media andcomputer storage media including any media that facilitate atransmission of computer programs from one location to another location.The storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, not limitation, the computer-readablemedium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or CD-ROM, other optical diskstorages, magnetic disk storages or other magnetic storage devices, orany other medium that may be used to transmit or store a desired programcode in a form of a command or data structure. Also, any connection isproperly referred to as a computer readable medium. For example, ifsoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourcesusing wireless technologies such as a coaxial cable, a fiber opticcable, a twisted pair cable, and a digital subscriber line (DSL) orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, thecoaxial cable, the fiber optic cable, the twisted pair cable, and theDSL or the wireless technologies such as the infrared, the radio, andthe microwave are included in the definition of the medium. A disk (anddisc) as used herein includes a compact disc (CD), a laser disc, anoptical disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disc, and aBlu-ray disc. Here, the discs generally reproduce data magnetically,while the discs optically reproduce data by a laser. The foregoingcombinations should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable medium.

When embodiments are implemented as a program code or code segments, thecode segment should be recognized as representing a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a class, or any combinations of commands, datastructures, or program statements. The code segment may transmit and/orreceive information, data, argument, parameter, or memory content to beconnected to another code segment or hardware circuit. The information,the data, the argument, the data, or the like may be communicated, sent,or transmitted using any suitable means including memory sharing,message transmission, token transmission, network transmission, etc. Inaddition, in certain aspects, steps and/or operations of a method or analgorithm may reside as one or any combination or a set of codes and/orcommands performed on one or more of the codes and/or instructions on amachine-readable medium and/or computer-readable medium that may beintegrated into a computer program article.

In an implementation of software, the techniques described herein may beimplemented by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that performthe functions described herein. The software codes may be stored inmemory units and executed by processors. The memory units may beimplemented in processors or outside the processors. In this case, thememory units may communicate with the processors by various means asknown.

In the implementation of the hardware, the functions may be implementedin one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), adigital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processing device(DSPD), a programming function logic device (PLD), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, amicroprocessor, other electronic units designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein, or combinations thereof.

The foregoing includes examples of one or more embodiments. Of course,all possible combinations of components or methods for the purpose ofdescribing the embodiments described above are not described, but thoseskilled in the art may recognize that many combinations andsubstitutions of various embodiments are possible. Accordingly, thedescribed embodiments are intended to embrace all the alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Moreover, in connection with the extent that theterm “include” in the detailed description or the appended claims isused, the term are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to“consisting” as interpreted when the term “configured” is used as atransitional word in the appended claim.

As used herein, the term “infer” or “inference” generally refers to aprocess of determining or inferring a state of system, environment,and/or user from a set of observations captured by events and/or data.The inference may be used to identify a particular situation oroperation or may generate a probability distribution for, for example,states. The inference may be probabilistic, that is, may be acomputation of the probability distribution for the corresponding statesbased on a consideration of data and events. The inference may alsorefer to techniques used to construct higher level events from a set ofevents and/or data. The inference may be estimated based on new eventsor operations from a set of observed events and/or stored event data,whether the events are closely correlated in time, and whether eventsand data are coming from one or several events and data sources.

Moreover, as used in the present application, the terms “component,”“module,” “system,” and the like are not limited thereto but areintended to encompass hardware, firmware, a combination of the hardwareand the software, computer-related entities such as software or softwarethat is being executed. For example, the component is not limitedthereto, but may be a process executed on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable execution thread, a program and/or a computer. Byway of example, all of an application running on a computing device anda computing device may be a component. One or more component may residewithin the process and/or the execution thread, and the components maybe centralized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. Further, the components may also be executed from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate by a local and/or remote processdepending on a signal or the like having one or more data packet (e.g.,data from a local system, other components of the distributed system,and/or any component interacting with other systems via a network, suchas the Internet by a signal).

What is claimed is:
 1. A lane change decision aid system (LCDAS)apparatus, comprising: a sensor for sensing whether a target vehicle isin adjacent zones of a subject vehicle or whether the target vehicle isin a rear zone of the subject vehicle, wherein the adjacent zones arewithin a first predetermined distance from the subject vehicle, and therear zone extends from the adjacent zones and is within a secondpredetermined distance from the subject, the second predetermineddistance being greater than the first predetermined distance; aprocessor for determining an activation condition for determiningwhether an LCDAS function is active/inactive and a warning condition fordetermining whether a warning of the LCDAS function is issued/un-issued,based on whether the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones or whetherthe target vehicle is in the rear zone of the subject vehicle; a warningdevice for issuing the warning to a driver based on a determinationresult of the processor; and a controller for controlling the sensor,the processor, and the warning device, wherein the activation conditionincludes a turn signal light activation condition of activating theLCDAS function when the driver turns on a turn signal light, theprocessor determines that a right LCDAS function is inactivated and aleft LCDAS function is activated when the driver turns on a left turnsignal light, and the processor suppresses a warning when the targetvehicle enters the adjacent zones from a front direction.
 2. The LCDASapparatus of claim 1, wherein the activation condition further includesat least one of: a continuous activation condition of activating theLCDAS function at all times when the subject vehicle starts; a manualswitch activation condition of allowing the driver to activate the LCDASfunction using a switch operation; and a subject vehicle speedactivation condition of activating the LCDAS function when a speed ofthe subject vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold speed value.3. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 2, wherein the warning conditionincludes at least one of: a blind spot warning condition of issuing ablind spot warning when the target vehicle is located in the adjacentzones; and a closing vehicle warning condition of issuing a closingvehicle warning when the target vehicle is located in the rear zone andwhen a maximum closing speed and a collision time of the target vehiclesatisfy a preset condition.
 4. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 3, whereinthe processor is additionally configured to determine a warning levelevaluation condition for evaluating a warning level, and the warninglevel evaluation condition includes at least one of: a turn signal lightevaluation condition determined as a high warning level when the driverturns on the turn signal light; and a steering input evaluationcondition determined as the high warning level when the drivermanipulates a steering of the subject vehicle.
 5. The LCDAS apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the warning condition includes a blind spot warningcondition of issuing a blind spot warning when the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones, and the processor suppresses an issuingof the blind spot warning for a period when subject vehicle passes thetarget vehicle and the target vehicle enters the adjacent zones from thefront direction.
 6. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 4, wherein the warningincludes a visual warning and an audible warning at a low warning level,and the warning includes a visual warning, an audible warning, and ahaptic warning at the high warning level.
 7. The LCDAS apparatus ofclaim 3, wherein the controller outputs a speed control commandcontrolling the speed of the subject vehicle or a steering controlcommand controlling a steering of the subject vehicle, corresponding toan issuance of the blind spot warning or an issuance of the closingvehicle warning.
 8. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 3, wherein theprocessor additionally determines a lateral wind condition for issuing alateral wind generation warning, and in the lateral wind condition, whenthe target vehicle is a compact vehicle, a closing speed of the targetvehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is in the adjacentzones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued and the controlleroutputs a command for controlling a damping of the vehicle in responseto the lateral wind generation warning.
 9. The LCDAS apparatus of claim3, wherein the processor additionally determines a lateral windcondition for issuing a lateral wind generation warning, and in thelateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is a large vehicle, aclosing speed of the target vehicle is a positive value, and the targetvehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral wind generation warning isissued and the controller outputs a command for controlling a height ofthe vehicle to be lowered in response to the lateral wind generationwarning.
 10. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 9, wherein in the lateral windcondition, when the target vehicle is the large vehicle, the closingspeed of the target vehicle is the positive value, and the targetvehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning isissued and the controller outputs the command for controlling thedamping of the vehicle in response to the lateral wind generationwarning.
 11. The LCDAS apparatus of claim 10, wherein the large vehicleis any one of a bus, a truck, and a trailer.
 12. A lane change decisionaid system (LCDAS) control method, comprising steps of: sensing, by asensor, whether a target vehicle is in adjacent zones of a subjectvehicle or whether the target vehicle is in a rear zone of the subjectvehicle, wherein the adjacent zones are within a first predetermineddistance from the subject vehicle, and the rear zone extends from theadjacent zones and is within a second predetermined distance from thesubject, the second predetermined distance being greater than the firstpredetermined distance; determining, by a processor, an activationcondition for determining whether an LCDAS function is active/inactive,based on whether the target vehicle is in the adjacent zones or whetherthe target vehicle is in the rear zone of the subject vehicle;determining, by the processor, a warning condition for determiningwhether the warning of the LCDAS function is issued/un-issued based onthe sensing result of the sensor; and issuing, by a warning device, awarning to a driver based on a determination result of the processor,wherein the activation condition includes a turn signal light activationcondition of activating the LCDAS function when the driver turns on aturn signal light, the determining the activation condition comprisesdetermining that a right LCDAS function is inactivated and a left LCDASfunction is activated when the driver turns on a left turn signal light,and the method further includes suppressing a warning when the targetvehicle enters the adjacent zones from a front direction.
 13. The LCDAScontrol method of claim 12, wherein the activation condition furtherincludes at least one of: a continuous activation condition ofactivating the LCDAS function at all times when the subject vehiclestarts; a manual switch activation condition of allowing the driver toactivate the LCDAS function using a switch operation; and a subjectvehicle speed activation condition of activating the LCDAS function whena speed of the subject vehicle is equal to or greater than a thresholdspeed value.
 14. The LCDAS control method of claim 13, wherein thewarning condition includes at least one of: a blind spot warningcondition of issuing a blind spot warning when the target vehicle islocated in the adjacent zones; and a closing vehicle warning conditionof issuing a closing vehicle warning when the target vehicle is locatedin the rear zone and when a maximum closing speed and a collision timeof the target vehicle satisfy a preset condition.
 15. The LCDAS controlmethod of claim 14, further comprising a step of: determining a warninglevel evaluation condition for evaluating a warning level, wherein thewarning level evaluation condition includes at least one of: a turnsignal light evaluation condition determined as a high warning levelwhen the driver turns on the turn signal light; and a steering inputevaluation condition determined as the high warning level when thedriver manipulates a steering of the subject vehicle.
 16. The LCDAScontrol method of claim 15, wherein the step of issuing a warningincludes: issuing a visual warning at a low warning level; and issuing avisual warning, an audible warning, and a haptic warning at a highwarning level.
 17. The LCDAS control method of claim 14, furthercomprising a step of: outputting a command controlling the speed of thesubject vehicle or the steering of the subject vehicle, corresponding toan issuance of the blind spot warning or an issuance of the closingvehicle warning.
 18. The LCDAS control method of claim 14, furthercomprising a step of: determining a lateral wind condition for issuing alateral wind generation warning, wherein in the lateral wind condition,when the target vehicle is a compact vehicle, a closing speed of thetarget vehicle is a positive value, and the target vehicle is in theadjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning is issued and acommand for controlling a damping of the vehicle in response to thelateral wind generation warning is output.
 19. The LCDAS control methodof claim 14, further comprising a step of: determining a lateral windcondition for issuing a lateral wind generation warning, wherein in thelateral wind condition, when the target vehicle is a large vehicle, aclosing speed of the target vehicle is a positive value, and the targetvehicle is in the rear zone, the lateral wind generation warning isissued and a command for controlling a height of the vehicle to belowered in response to the lateral wind generation warning is output.20. The LCDAS control method of claim 19, wherein in the warningcondition, when the target vehicle is the large vehicle, the closingspeed of the target vehicle is the positive value, and the targetvehicle is in the adjacent zones, the lateral wind generation warning isissued and a command for controlling a damping of the vehicle inresponse to the lateral wind generation warning is output.